Toms River man arrested for shooting at car in Manchester

A Toms River teenager is charged with two counts of attempted murder for allegedly shooting at a car while driving around Pine Lake Park Saturday in Manchester.

Nobody inside the other car was struck by the bullet but the glass was shattered and that did cause one reported injury.

When police got there, the suspect was gone, but 18-year old Lakovian Shepherd Jr. was arrested on Sunday at a convenience store on Washington Street in Toms River.

Manchester Police received a call around 2:40 pm Saturday from a concerned citizen saying a suspicious black SUV was driving around Pine Lake Park near Fifth and Sixth Avenues.

As the call was coming in, a 24-year old South Toms River man walked into police headquarters saying a black male was driving a black SUV and shot out the passenger window of his vehicle.

The man who walked into headquarters was in the car being shot at at the corner of Fifth Avenue and Hannibal Street.

He sustained injuries from the glass breaking and was brought to Community Medical Center for treatment of minor injuries and later released.

The search for Shepherd Jr. began after police arrived at the scene of the crime and discovered he was not there.

Officers received information about the suspected shooting and were able to find the shattered glass and one spent .380 shell casing in the vicinity of Fifth Avenue and Hannibal Street.

The scene was secured and reinforcements called in including detectives from the Ocean County Sheriff's Office Crime Scene Investigations (CSI) Unit as well as members of the department's Investigations Bureau.

Investigators carried out an extensive neighborhood canvas and through the use of information supplied by witnesses as well as security camera footage obtained from the recreational area, they identified the suspect and his car...a black Nissan SUV.

Shepherd Jr. was charged with two counts of attempted murder, two of aggravated assault, one count of unlawful possession of a weapon and one count of possession of a weapon for unlawful purpose prior to his arrest which came Sunday with an assist from Toms River Police.

He was taken into custody without incident.

His black, Nissan Rogue was found over in Island Heights and impounded as part of the investigation.

After being processed for arrest, he was transported to Ocean County Jail in accordance with NJ Bail Reform.